rocket queen
by BittersweetSonata
Summary: Jumpstart my kaleidoscope heart. —natsu ო lucy


**notes: **twix commercials these days are weird. meant to post this yesterday, but stuff happened.

**pairings: **natsu ო lucy, gray ო juvia, gajeel ო levy, jellal ო erza, lucy ო gray (bro!ship only)

**setting: **au

**disclaimer: **own nothing

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_{I __was enchanted to meet you}_

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Lucy Heartfilia looks both ways before crossing the street. It's a principle that was instilled into her at an early age, and it hadn't ever really gone away. Streetlights cast an amber glow about the concrete and ash, providing a feeling of safety—a false sense of security. A cool breeze rustles her hair and she winces before pulling her dark hood over her head.

The city is eerily quiet, with only a passing car here and there, and she hasn't seen any other living beings at all. The sky is dark, and there is no moon and no stars. Everything feels desolate and cold, and the blonde shivers.

Of course, all of that is understandable since it's two-oh-_hell_-no in the morning, and the only people crazy enough to be outside are her and some others she would prefer to never meet. Lucy narrows her eyes and glances down at her blue and white plaid pajama pants and worn out Chuck Taylors. The latter makes her blink, and she sighs when she realizes that they're mismatched—most likely due to her putting them on while still half asleep.

The blonde sticks her hands into the pockets of her dark hoodie in an attempt to keep them from freezing. She watches her breath materialize before her in the dull lamplight and curses her reason for being out this late—or is it early? She doesn't know, and she's too tired to care.

The current bane of her existence—read also: Gray Fullbuster, her roommate and an absolute asshole as of one-thirty this morning—is back at their home on Strawberry Street. Lucy scowls and imagines him wrapped up in a blanket and sitting by their heater, a cup of steaming coffee in his hands. She rubs her arms and huffs as she stomps down the sidewalk.

The two had been friends since freshman year of college, and Lucy had to admit she'd had a crush on the tall, dark, and handsome guy who was her best friend. She'd be crazy not to, even by her standards. Gray Fullbuster could charm someone from Bosco—possibly one of the coldest countries known to man—into buying ice. Just one of his smiles could make a girl melt into a puddle. It was science, or rather flirting, but a perfected art nonetheless.

There is just one problem with Gray Fullbuster. And that is that he's literally the coldest person on the fucking planet. He doesn't seem able to maintain a stable relationship—sometimes Lucy wonders if he even _tries_—and his body temperature is at _least _ten degrees colder than a normal human being's. Also, he had a stripping problem.

Like, it was a legitimate thing. He would just start taking his clothes off wherever, whenever, like it was nobody's business. And he wasn't even _aware _of what he was doing. It was all in his subconscious, and so Lucy usually had to kindly inform him that he was stripping down to his boxers in the middle of Target.

That had been fun.

Needless to say, her crush hadn't been long-lasting, but she still admired him in a sense. Or at least she had until about one twenty-two this morning.

Gray had woken her from her deep slumber to alert her that they were out of milk. And that was something that just wasn't to be dismissed in the Heartfilia-Fullbuster household. Milk was like a third of their food palette, and it was _not _okay for there to just be none available.

She really had no idea what her roommate was doing up in the middle of the night, but she'd had to join him in the land of the (semi) conscious for a greater cause. And that was, apparently, to fetch milk for breakfast. So somehow in her half-dead state she had been persuaded into going out and buying the diary product.

(Sometimes, she really wondered why she put up with him. But then he would buy her that pair of boots she'd been wanting for _forever, _or he would do something uncharacteristically sweet and she just couldn't bring herself to kick him out. Also, he paid half the rent, and she liked her home.)

And so, Lucy had stumbled out of her front door and into the dead of night only semi-conscious and half aware of her surroundings on a trek to the nearest convenience store for milk. But not before Gray had pulled her aside and shoved a one of his dark hoodies over her head.

"_It'll help you look suspicious. Criminals tend not to start shit with other criminals, Lucy." _He'd said, and then guided her toward the door. Sometimes she wondered how he passed his psychology classes with honors.

And maybe also how a navy blue hoodie from American Eagle was supposed to make her look threatening.

The blonde scoffs and glances down at her outfit—which is, eloquently put, a bloody nightmare. The hoodie was the least of her problems, even though she didn't usually go for the darker colors. They just weren't for her. Maybe anyone else who was crazy enough to be out at this time of the night would mistake her for a drug dealer and leave her alone.

Something bright catches her attention, and she looks up to see the red neon sign for Max's Grocery. It bathes her and the surrounding sidewalk in a harsh glow, and she squints. The 'y' in 'Grocery' is blinking in and out, and she sighs and steps forward as the automatic doors to the small store open.

Somewhere a beep sounds, and she is instantly hit with a wave of warm air. She blinks as her eyes adjust to the overly bright luminescent lights inside and heads over to the refrigerator section. She opens the glass door and grabs a gallon, the blast of cold air giving her goose bumps. She closes her eyes and imagines her warm bed before dragging her feet over to the counter.

The blonde passes by a shelf of candy and stops to contemplate. Her russet eyes land on a box of Junior Mints—Gray's favorite—and she scowls. A smile pulls at the corners of her lips and she reaches forward and snatches a bag of peanut M&Ms and a box of Hot Tamales, pointedly ignoring the cool and chocolately candy in the white box.

Lucy places her items on the counter and waits, tapping her foot. It takes a minute, but the sound of snoring reaches her ears. She raises a brow and peers over the counter. Sighing at the sleeping form of the man she assumes is Max, she slams her hand down on the bell for customer service.

The sandy-haired man jumps, eyes wide and awake, and Lucy waves at him and smiles. He blinks, before his brain seems to register that she is a customer. Then he quickly grabs her purchases and rings them up. Lucy slips her Deadpool wallet out of the back of her pajama pants pocket and pulls out ten—mentally promising that Gray will refund her.

"Will that be all for you tonight, ma'am?"

The blonde nods, hands over the money, and picks up the plastic bag. "Yeah, thanks."

Max—she has confirmed it is indeed him via his nametag—smiles and hands her the change. "Thank you for shopping with us. Come back again soon!"

Lucy turns on her heel and walks out the door, groaning once she is back out in the chilly air. It's gotten colder, and her teeth chatter as she walks. She tightens her grip around the bag in her hand, and smiles once she remembers the contents. The M&Ms are for her, obviously, but the red box of candy is not.

It's for Gray.

(And she's smiling because he hates Hot Tamales.)

"Next time he can buy his own damn milk," she mutters under her breath.

Sure she'll use it too, but she could have just gotten something from one of the many restaurants in Magnolia, despite spending the money. That way she could have just slept peacefully through the night and gotten the milk later. She needed her beauty sleep, dammit, and it was fucking freezing. True, it was technically her turn to get the milk, but when it came down to it, Lucy valued mind over matter.

Or rather, sleep over something they could get at the grocery store.

Screw the technicalities.

The blonde sighs and looks up at the dark sky. The moon and stars are hidden behind thick clouds that promise rain. In all honesty, she's a little disappointed that she can't see the twinkling lights that she's always loved, but even without the clouds the lights from the town would probably drown them out. So instead she closes her eyes and imagines them.

She smiles and wishes on a not-so-imaginary star for something. Adventure, maybe. Or love. She swears in the back of her mind that she hears a snicker.

Afterwards, Lucy lowers her head, and realizes that at some point she had stopped walking. The streets are still quiet and it's still cold, but something's different. Her chocolate-colored orbs land on a figure leaning against the wall a few feet in front of her, and it's only then that she registers that she is not alone.

She catches a flash of pink in the lamplight, along with a wide grin. Then, the figure starts toward her, hands jammed into its pockets. Lucy freezes when it—_he_—comes to a stop beside her. Headlines detailing her death flash before her eyes and she panics because this is not the way she wants to go down.

"Isn't it kind of late for a walk?"

The man's baritone voice brings her out of her reverie, and she gulps. It's not particularly deep—like Gray's—but instead has a boyish and mischievous undertone. And for the stupidest reasons she can't even comprehend, she suddenly feels safe.

(And she knows it's definitely not because of Gray's stupid American Eagle hoodie.)

"I could say the same thing for you." Lucy retorts, wrestling with her mind and its ridiculous thoughts. "I actually have a valid reason to be out here, thank you."

No matter how angry she was about it up until she'd ran into this guy, at least she did have a reason.

She can see the corner of the man's grin from her peripheral vision. "Really? I wonder what you're doing out here, then? Especially if it pisses you off so much. And if you're in your pajamas."

Of course she'd said that out loud. And of course he just _had _to notice her sleepwear.

This was all _Gray's_ fault.

"Yeah well, my mom always told me not to talk to strangers, so have a great…morning, but I really have to run. _Bye._"

Sounds legit, Lucy nods to herself.

The man—she kind of hates calling him that because it doesn't suit him—grabs her wrist before she can successfully get away. "Okay well, at least tell me your name. I'm Natsu."

Ah yes, a strange man offering his name to her in exchange for hers. In the middle of the night. And they are all alone. This had bad idea written all over it. But sometimes Lucy didn't make the greatest judgment calls, okay. And who could really blame her when it was almost three in the morning?

"Lucy." she spits. "My name is Lucy. Now do you _mind_?"

The blonde jerks her hand back, and it easily slips out of Natsu's grasp. She turns and catches a glimpse of twinkling onyx orbs before he leans down by her hear, hands returned to his pockets.

"Well then, _Lucy_, you better run on home. It's not safe out here for a girl like you."

Natsu's now gravelly and playful tone sends shivers down her spine. His hot breath brushing her ear and cheek does funny things to her head. She opens her mouth to reply, but it's almost out of a force of habit, because she can't think of anything to say. In fact, all she can think of period is how close he is and wow it's been a while since she's shared her personal space with a guy besides Gray and that fat guy on the train.

Lucy concludes that she can't think straight at the moment, please try calling later.

Natsu twirls a lock of her golden hair around his finger and sends her a meaningful smirk. And then, he's gone.

And what Lucy doesn't realize, is that she has wished upon a star in Aquarius' tail.

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**end notes: **yes this pairing is natsu and lucy, but c'mon. who _wouldn't _have a crush on gray fullbuster like seriously.


End file.
